


Popcorn, Books and Friendship

by Creativity_s_Loyal_Servant



Category: Rick and Morty, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Friendship, Gen, basically Lion 2: The Movie ft. Morty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:17:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8543965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creativity_s_Loyal_Servant/pseuds/Creativity_s_Loyal_Servant
Summary: Steven is hyped up to go to the movies with Connie to see her favourite movie franchise; Dogcopter! But somehow with Steven around, a trip to the movies can end up being more dangerous than expected.Oh, and Connie brings a friend along too.Based on the Steven Universe Episode, Lion 2: The Movie but with Morty dragged along into the shenanigans.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy! It's been a long while since I've written, so I hope this isn't too bad!  
> This piece was basically inspired by Universe Falls (by MiniJen, which is an amazing fic that you should read if you love Gravity Falls and Steven Universe,) which made me go, 'hey, what shows can I combine to make a decent fic out of it? I know! Rick and Morty and Steven Universe!'
> 
> This was basically me trying to see how Morty would fit in with the Steven Universe crew, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

 Humming quietly to himself, Steven gingerly drops a bag of chips and two juice cans on the kitchen top, ready to be tucked into a cheeseburger backpack. Brushing the non-existent dust off his hands, he smiles and takes a seat near the table, swinging his legs back and forth as he patiently waits.

Minutes later, a knock resounds thrice on the flimsy wooden framed door. The boy’s head swivels at the noise, a giant grin growing on his chubby face as his eyes light up at the sound. He pushes himself off his seat, his hands flattening out the creases of his pink shirt.

“Coming!” He chirps, jogging to the door in pink flat footed sandals, curly black hair bouncing upon his head.

Steven pulls the door open, revealing a bespectacled girl with wavy chocolate hair in blue overalls and a green striped shirt, and a nervous boy with short brown hair, dressed in a yellow tee and blue jeans.

“Hi, Connie!” Steven greets her before turning to look at the person beside her. “Who’s this?” He quizzes with a tilt of his head and a curious rise of his eyebrows.

“Oh, this is Morty!” Connie nods to the boy next to her, who waves shyly, lightly kicking the wood floor. “He wanted to join our movie hangout since his parents were busy. Sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“That's fine! This just means I'll have a new friend!” Steven laughs heartedly, extending a welcoming hand to Morty.  “Hi! I'm Steven! Nice to meet you!”

“H-Hey, man, n-nice to meet you too.” The teen gives a small polite smile as he shakes the boy's hand firmly.

Steven’s smile widens further at that as he beckons the two friends inside, stepping aside to allow them into the comfort of his home.

“So, how'd you two meet?” Steven asks, closing the door shut before walking towards the kitchen counter.

“We’re from the same school but from different grades, so we just recently met through…”

Connie pauses her train of thought and casts a side look to Morty, who simply nods, before continuing hesitantly.

“... Through a rather _unique_ meeting near the stairwell.” Connie shoots a strained smile, shrugging a little.

“I f-fell down the stairs because m-my pants fell and I tripped on t-them.” Morty admits sheepishly, scratching the nape of his neck.

“Oh my gosh!” Steven gasps, his gaze turning concerned. “Did you hurt yourself badly?”

“N-Not really. Just a f-few bruises. C-C-Connie helped me up a-and we went to the nurse's office. N-No biggie.” The fourteen year old brushes off, as Connie nods in agreement.

“I thought he would’ve at least fractured a bone or got a concussion, but Morty can really take a hit. Or several hits, from several steps.” The bespectacled girl involuntarily shudders.

“I-I’ve been in a c-couple rough patches, e-every now and then.” Morty fesses up with a nervous laugh.

“Well, I’m glad that you’re okay.” Steven declares with genuity, before clearing his throat. “So! What's this movie that we're heading to?”

“Oh! It's called Dogcopter, and it's super cool! It's about a world where destruction reigns across the land and humans have to rely on a dog to save the world!” Connie exclaims excitedly.

“A-And there's a lot of explosions and b-bombs too.” Morty chips in.

“ _Whoa_ !” Steven awes, absolutely starstruck. “That sounds _awesome!_ ”

“ _Right?_ ” Connie emphasises her glee as she slips her hand into the pockets of her overalls and pulls out her phone. “Here, I'll show you the trailer.”

With deft finger work, Connie opens the video to the trailer of Dogcopter. Steven can barely hold his excitement, hands gripping his seat, on edge. Morty scoots to the other vacant seat next to her to have a clear view of the clip, currently showing a green screen with approvals and ratings for the movie.

The screen eventually flits to a city in war and chaos, fire coating the sides of buildings with smoke rising out of them while sirens wail in the background.

“ _Some people say…_ ” A voice booms against the dramatic soundtrack, the scene flickering to a hover of helicopters flooding the sky.  “ _You can’t teach…”_

A hi-tech spider-like robot stands in front of the ruined city, shooting out a red laser that utterly destroys a building just in its view.

 _“An old dog…”_ A dog pans into view, eyes opening and tilting upwards with a robotic hum. _”New tricks…_ ” The same laser cuts through the helicopters with precision, each of them overheating before erupting into smoke and metal shrapnel; the view panning back to the robot, menacingly.

“ _Unless you’re…”_

A girl and dog turn to look at each other amongst the carnage. She cracks a smug grin towards the animal, who looks back with a knowing look, before facing forward and ejecting its robot propellers. Upon activation, the blades create a forceful wind, as the dog narrows its eyes in determination.

 _“Dogcopter 3 in 3D!_ ”

The dog spins through the sky, weaving in and out through the danger as it approaches the robot. The titular character simply spins before shooting a missile out of his rear, hitting the robot straight in the eye as it explodes from the blast.

“ _This February, the fur hits the fan._ ” The scene fades to black with the promise of the movie coming this February.

“Whoa…” Steven mumbles in wonder before looking up from the video to Connie, who casts her gaze to Steven. “I can see why this is your favourite film franchise!”

“That’s right!” Connie responds knowingly, with a smile and a tilt of her glasses. “In a world where humanity is pushed the brink, it turns out… that the one that’s most human is a dog! …Copter.” She adds, her fingers tapping against the edges of her phone.

“And did you see where that missile came out off?!” Steven shoots his hands in the air, animatedly.

Morty laughs while Connie lets out a short giggle.

“Yeah.” She answers, with a lewd blush before her expression morphs into that of a solemn one. “I just hope it stays faithful to the book.” She states, serious.

Before either boys can utter a single word, a column of light erupts from behind Connie. Both Morty and Connie turn to the sudden source of bright brilliance; Connie letting out a loud gasp of surprise while Morty frowns a little at the sight, confused. Steven, however, looks on with a smile over Connie’s shoulder.

“W-Where is that c-coming from…?” Morty mutters, his eyes sweeping back and forth from Steven and the pillar of light.

“It's from the warp pad. It means the Gems are back.” Steven states casually, getting off his seat to approach the glowing beam.

Connie and Morty shoot each other a look before sliding themselves off their seats to follow behind.

As they approach the blinding radiance, it eventually fades away into nothingness, revealing three figures.

One of them was of a lanky yet thin stature, skin as white as snow. She stood elegantly as her light pink hair fluttered along with the blue sash tied between her sky blue blouse (which was marked with a star insignia) and yellow tights. Her gem, a pearl, was perched upon the top of her forehead; her eyes shut with her head (and pointy nose) raised slightly.

The middle had her hands posed on her wide hips, bent slightly inward. She was the tallest of the three and had an afro; her expression stoic and unreadable behind her reflective shades. Her outfit was of shades of red, black and purple with a star theme, matching nicely with the red gemstones on both palms and her skin tone of dark burgundy. Somehow, she gave the air of being an authoritative figure between the three of them.

The shortest of the three gave an aura of playfulness, what with her hands in the air and a wide grin that stretched across her face. Her white long bangs was draped over her left eye, flowing behind her. She was cladded in a black spaghetti strapped shirt underneath an even crooked grey singlet (which covered a rough cut amethyst) and a pair of black pants with purple stars on both kneecaps.

“W-Whoa…” Morty gapes, eyeing the three gems that had just appeared.

“Greetings.” Garnet comments, calm and collected, unbreaking from her pose.

Pearl slowly opens her sapphire eyes, only to startle at the sight of Connie and Morty.

“Oh!” The white gem gasps, before laughing nervously as she grasps her hands. “W-Well, hello, Connie! What a surprise to see you! And who’s this with you? I don't believe we've met before.” Pearl gestures at Morty, who immediately erupts into a mess of stutters and mumbles.

“This is Morty! He’s a friend of Connie’s and now he’s my friend too!” Steven beams before curling his hands into fists in excitement. “We’re going to watch a movie about a wacky flying dog!” He glances at Connie with a toothy grin. “Show them, Connie!”

“I mean- it’s about much more than that.” The bespectacled girl murmurs quietly, before stepping forward and playing the video.

The Crystal Gems lean in a little closer to peer at the tiny screen that currently shows the titular character, Dogcopter, barking, above the words, ‘Coming Soon.’

“Ohoho, that’s easy!” Amethyst boasts before morphing from her original form to imitate that of Dogcopter’s form on the phone screen.

With a whirl of her makeshift blades on her back, she propels herself to the ceiling through the whirr of blades, gaining another noise of surprise from the eleven year old girl and a string of awed silence from Morty.

“Who needs to go see movies when you got… **_magic_ ** _!_ ” Amethyst blurts out rambunctiously before transforming her head into a radio with playable instrumental music.

“That’s p-pretty cool...” Morty stutters out as Amethyst hovers just above their heads, moonwalking to the rhythm of the song. “C-Can the two of you d-do that t-too?” He inquires, managing to tear his gaze away from the sight of the morphed gem to the other two gems.

Garnet nods silently before looking upwards at Amethyst, bobbing her head to the rhythm. Pearl looks away, disgruntled by the purple gem’s frequent and inappropriate usage of her morphing abilities.

“Yes, we can, but we prefer to use it when we are in dire need of it or if the situation calls for it.” Pearl answers, still scowling at Amethyst’s poor use of powers.

“I use it more often because I'm totes more fun than Pearl.” Amethyst’s voice reverberates through the static of her radio head’s music.

The white gem scoffs, crossing her arms.

“Aw, stop showing off, Amethyst. Connie promises this movie is even better than any magic!” Steven turns to look at said person, still gawking at the gem, with a supportive smile in hand.

“I did _not_ say that.” Connie hastily corrects, glancing at Steven before turning back to Amethyst, fixated.

“And check this out!” Steven plods back to the kitchen to present the variety of snacks on the counter top. “We got our own snacks! Though, maybe I should pack more, since Morty’s coming along with us now.”

Steven shuffles further into the kitchen to grab another can and a bag of chips from the fridge and cupboard respectively.

“N-No, that’s fine! I-I-I don't really n-need snacks…” Morty protests, rubbing his arm anxiously.

“Nonsense! Snacks are always a necessity when it comes to movies. We can bring more snacks.” Connie proclaims, finality in her tone (“Aw j-jeez-” The teen mutters out quietly before thanking Steven, who shrugs it off with a smile,) as she turns to Garnet and Pearl. “My parents say I’m not allowed to buy snacks at the theatre. So…” Her expression turns into that of a mischievous one. “We’re not buying _anything_ at the theatre.”

“ _Nom noms!_ ” Amethyst’s radio head distorts into her original head, albeit with shorter hair and sharper teeth. “ **_Feed meeee!_ ** ” She growls in a deeper tone, her mouth open wide and filled with canines ready to dig into both the food _and_ the packaging.

“Hands off, Amethyst!” Steven bares his hands over the snacks laid on the surface of the table protectively, an adamant frown on his face. “These are for Connie, Morty and me to share at the movie!”

“Speaking of which…” Connie’s eyebrows furrow in thought as she approaches Steven, Morty following behind. “How are we getting to the theatre?” Her eyes lock on Steven, her frown deepening. “It’s… kind of far.”

Steven zips up the snacks and beverages in the depths of his cheeseburger backpack and face the two of his friends with a grin.

“Don’t worry! I got it covered.” Steven’s grin widens as he leans on the counter top with a goofy crossed-eyed expression. “Today, we’re going to travel in _styleeeeeee_.”

* * *

 

Morty blinks once, twice, three times, in utter disbelief. Connie stares on, gaze unfaltering, mouth agaped.

“Introducing, the finest in luxury transportation…” Steven announces proudly, with a flick of his hand and a turn of his head. “ _Lion!_ ”

‘Lion,’ as Steven called the massive pink lion in front of them, towered over them, turning his head, uninterested, from the sandy spot he sat on. The cotton candy pink of his mane ruffles lightly as the lion sounded out a yawn and laid down, comfortable in the soft sand.

“Awww, you little goofball.” Steven trudges over to Lion and smooshes his face into the mass of pink fur.

“W-Wow… y-you weren’t kidding when y-you said that his l-life was magical.” Morty whispers to Connie, who, for the third time today, is at a lost for words.

“Yeah, but I didn't know there'd be more to this than fighting monsters and going on magical missions!” Connie frets to him before turning to the mysterious lion casually laid on the beach. “You have a pet _lion_ , Steven?”

“Lion is… sorta like a pet!” The boy removes his face from the mane to instead lie against it, careful to not squish the contents in the cheeseburger backpack. “He does his own thing most of the time, though!” He stares adoringly at Lion before hearing a mixture of a loud crunch and a growl.

He looks down just as Connie and Morty deem it safe to approach the pink lion without getting chomped. The three of them take note of the blue half-eaten gem creature that sat near Lion’s front paws, a small snack.

“See?” Steven waves his hand at the carcass before shrugging. “Who knows where he got that.”

“M-Maybe it’s from the sea? O-O-Or across it…?” Morty supplies a suggestion with his own shrug.

“Maybe.” Steven acknowledges, humming thoughtfully.

“Wow, Steven…” Connie sighs out, cradling her arms and looking up to the cloudy blue sky, frowning. “Everything in your life is so awesome and magical…”

She notices a broken off branch lying in the sand, picking it up and gripping it in her hands.

“The most exciting thing in my life… is tennis practice.” Connie examines the stick absentmindedly, before assuming the position accustomed to in tennis. “Forehand!” She says as she swings to the left, nearly batting Steven, who flinches backwards. “Backhand!” She shouts, swinging to the right and almost slapping Morty, earning a yelp from the teenager. “Overhead… death strike!” She yells, closing her eyes and slashing the stick forward.

“Whoa, tennis is rad!” Steven lights up at the moves that Connie displayed in front of him.

“Well…” Her voice goes quiet as she regards the stick. “I made up that last one.”

“Y-You’d b-be… a r-really good sword f-fighter though, f-from those m-moves.” Morty lets out a sigh of relief as Connie drops the stick to her side.

Lion lets out a long growl, attaining the attention of the three kids.

“I think Lion says we should hurry up and go.” Steven attempts to translates, before frowning. “Or… maybe he’s just yawning.”

A moment of silence passes through as the children flick back and forth between staring at Steven’s lion and each other.

“... _Anyway, let’s go to a movieeee!”_ He chirps enthusiastically, raising his hands in the air before hiking up onto Lion’s back, helping the other two up.

“Y-You sure this is s-safe, Steven? W-Wh-What if we f-fall off?” Morty worries, gripping Lion’s back as firmly as he could.

“Don't worry, Morty! I've ridden him before, and even though it was just that one time where he caught me while getting that gem artifact, it's pretty safe! As long as you hold on, you'll be okay! And even if you do fall, Lion will catch you!” Steven assures as he ruffles the lion’s ears and pet its back.

“O-Okay, then…” Morty’s hands dig further into Lion’s coat.

“And we're off!” Steven exclaims with a smile, holding onto Lion’s mane.

The beast does nothing, only standing and gazing off into the distance. Puzzled, Steven cranes his neck to look Lion in the face.

“Uh… Lion, I want you to take us to the movie.” Steven tries, more ginger with his words but to no avail. “Okaaay, you’re not listening to me…”

Morty lets out a breath of relief he didn't realise he was holding.

“M-Maybe we can t-take the bus instead…?” Morty suggests meekly, wanting to get off.

“Haha, yeah.” Steven rubs the back of his head. “Sorry… Lion isn't trained very well. But I'm not trained very well either, so we're a-”

Lion’s ears prick up and suddenly, without any warning, the beast lets out a hearty roar before bounding off from the beach, almost galloping. The three of them collectively yell, Steven and Connie out of surprise while Morty mostly out of fear. The shouts eventually dissolve into mild laughter, in realisation of how exhilarating it was with the wind rushing through their hair on their trusty lion steed.

With a sharp turn on the boardwalk and another set of yells from the sudden force, Lion thrusts himself to his left and to the direction of-

“ _Wait, Lion!_ ” Steven’s eyes widen the same time Connie braces herself and Morty arches backwards in an attempt to distance himself from the incoming sea. “ _Don’t go in the ocean!_ ”

Lion pushes his hind legs backwards and pounces, leaving the three children screaming, expecting to plunged into the depths of the ocean.

Instead, a loud splash resounds around them and splatters them lightly with sea water. The trio looks down towards the ripples of waters beneath the lion’s pink paws, unsinking and stable as if on land.

“Aw, j-jeez…” Morty wheezes out, near shaking from Lion’s unexpected choice of jumping into the ocean.

“You can walk on water?!” Steven gawks, before huffing and frowning at his large feline friend. “Why don’t you tell me you can do these things you d _ooooooo-!_ ”

Without missing a beat, Lion charges forth again, earning a laugh from Connie and another shriek from Morty.

Their journey to the movies on Steven’s lion felt magical as the pink beast propels his way gracefully across the surface of the water. While Connie and Steven faced forward in awe, Morty opted to admire the vast ocean around him, happy that this was one adventure that didn’t involve him getting hurt. Seagulls sliced the air next to them as the massive lion heaved past a boat with bewildered sailors who were too shocked to respond to Steven’s cheerful ‘heyo!’

However, as the ripples from Lion’s footsteps fade behind them with the view of Beach City, Connie stares back at the growing distance behind them with a frown.

“Uh, are you sure he knows where he’s going?” Connie speaks against the whistling of the wind, furrowing a brow at Steven.

“Maybe it’s a shortcut?” Steven reasons before feeling Lion’s back curve as the beast stretches out and lets out a mighty roar.

Wisps from the hefty growl shift into circles, shooting across the water to form a pink vortex. Lion wastes no time charging forward to it.

“I-Is that a p-portal?!” Morty hollers, eyes trained on the rip in front of them.

“I don't knooooow!” Steven yells back, the trio shouting as they pass through the portal and into a strange starry passage.

Steven latches onto Lion's neck as the high paced velocity pulls them to the left, Connie doing the same with Steven’s waist. Morty fumbles with his grip, the fear of tumbling into the void of this weird passage keeping him  holding tight to Lion's rear.

“Has he ever done this?!” Connie shouts, a little scared as she flutters like a flag against the fast speed.

“No, this is new!” Steven barely answers before the light of the tunnel fades into the dull darkness of a cave.

Lion skids across the shallow water with his paws, smoothly executed without any of the three falling off. The groans of the trio fill the air, before they yelp at the sensation of cold water that Lion had dumped them into unceremoniously by sitting down. Morty wastes no time in springing upright, eyes shifting and examining the place they just arrived in. Steven roughly shakes the water out of his hair and glances back at Connie, who brushes her wet locks out of her view.

“Are you okay?” Steven asks, concerned and worried.

“That was really cool.” Was the only hushed reply that Steven got out from a starstruck Connie.

“G-Guys…?” Morty stutters out, shivering from the cold and the unfamiliarity of the place. “Wh-Where a-are we…?”

Lion lets out a low growl to the three of them from the white platform he stood upon, before plodding away from sight.

“Lion!” Steven calls out, hastily getting up and chasing after his animal friend. “Wait! Where are you going?!”

Upon getting a closer look at the entire place, he stops dead in his tracks and lets out a gasp, unmoving even as Connie bumps into him with an ‘oof!’

“Whoa!” Connie looks upwards to the stalactites stuck to the ceiling, surveying the white platform they stood on. “Is this one of those magic gem places that you've told me about?”

Steven takes a step forward and jolts upon the sudden light clicking on below his and his friends’ feet. The three watch in silence as the light fades into a small beam next to Lion, waiting expectantly for Steven.

“Yep.” Steven affirms immediately. “Magic gem place.”

As the three approach the gleaming light swiftly, a hand-shaped platform encrusted with a pink gem in its middle rises upwards with a grind, just tall enough for Steven to put his hand on. Connie crouches down, examining the stone pedestal thoroughly while Morty stays a decent berth away from it, suspicious of its sudden appearance. Steven shoots a look at his pink feline.

“Lion, normally I'm all about this stuff, but this is not the movies.” He scolds his pink lion lightly, who only looks at the pedestal with mild interest.

Lion lets out a short growl.

“What does that mean, Lion?!” Steven asks, flailing his hands, flabbergasted. “What does that even mean?!”

Lion provides no answers, unblinking as he watches Connie run her hands down the smooth cut of the white stand.

“What if he brought you here for a reason…?” She mutters, eyes still locked on the pedestal, attempting to figure out its functions.

“A-Aw, j-jeez, guys…” Morty shudders as he looks away from the cave's entrance for the 6th time. “M-Maybe we sh-shouldn't mess with t-this stuff. W-Wh-What if it's s-some sort of t-trap? W-We don't e-even know if we're still in the right dimension!” He frets, pressing a hand to his face and dragging it downwards, leaving a trail of red scratch marks.

“Dimension?” Connie echoes, turning to Morty along with Steven, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I-I…” Morty gulps, regretting his decision in blurting out words haphazardly.. “Ri- M-My grandpa and I g-go on adventures s-sometimes to other dimensions. A-And I-I’d say they were n-ninety percent dangerous the whole t-time.” Morty bites his lip, his fists gripped so tightly they were turning pale. “I-I-I don't wanna s-see you guys g-get hurt… s-so maybe w-we should just go-”

“ _There are different dimensions?!”_ Connie blurts out, perplexed.

Morty blinks at Connie’s enthusiasm before nodding slowly in confirmation. Connie stares into space unblinking, mulling this new information.

“I… don't really know what that means but you have a point, Morty.” Steven declares, after processing the details fed to him by the yellow tee teenager. “The Crystal Gems almost always go on missions without me because they're dangerous. Plus, if we don't hurry, we'll miss the commercials-”

Steven begins counting on his fingers as Connie breaks out of her thoughtful trance, staring between Steven’s raised hand and the pedestal curiously.

“-Then we might miss the previews and we still need to find the perfect seats-”

Morty frowns before panicking as Connie lifts Steven’s left hand to place onto the pedestal.

“-Near the front but not _too_ close.” Steven finishes, just as Connie gently puts his hand on the pedestal, initiating a bright glow from the entire platform.

“Aw j-jeez, C-Connie!” Morty runs up to the two of them, not wanting to be separated from them in case danger reveals itself. “Wh-Why’d you d-do that?”

“Well, nothing bad happened. It just lit up.” Connie shrugs before giving Morty a reassuring smile. “I think it likes him!”

“Ah…!” Steven attempts to tug his hand away from the hand pedestal, but finds it glued onto it by a mysterious force.” _Ahhhh!_ My hand’s stuck!” Steven wails, trying again to wrench his hand off the stone, grunting from the effort. “ _It won’t come off!_ ”

“ _O-Oh n-no._ ” The teen mumbles before grasping Steven’s hand, Connie doing the same.

“Hang on!” Connie announces before the three of them begin pulling. But even with their combined strength, Steven still remains fastened to the stone. “Man… that’s stuck on good.” She huffs, rubbing the back of her head. “I guess… we’ll have to chop it off.” She offers, looking at Steven, solemnly.

“ _What?!_ ” Both Morty and Steven exclaim, equally horrified at the idea.

Almost instantly, a noise resounds through the cave as a variety of sharp swords slide from out of the ground, lining themselves neatly into a line to be picked from. Morty immediately pales at the sight while Connie looks over at the arrangement.

“Hey, swords!” She smiles, taking a small step forward towards them.

“ _Nooooo!_ ” Steven howls, fearing his hand would get chopped off from any one of those swords.

The swords slide back down to the ground swiftly, out of sight but not out of mind. Connie snaps her head towards Steven, confused but amazed.

“Whoa, how’d you do that?!” Connie demands with wide eyes.

“I don’t know.” Steven replies, puzzled before Connie shakes him, with more enthusiasm.

“Do it again! Do it again!”

“Um… okay?” Steven screws his eyes shut and brings an arm up, clenching it tightly as he attempts to reveal the swords again with the power of his mind, but to no effect. “... Anything?” He pops an eyelid open, scanning for any changes.

“N-Nope. Nothing h-happened.” Morty reports, walking to the spot where the swords had initially appeared.

“Hmm.” Connie hums before turning to Steven and pinching him. “Here.”

“Ow! What are you-” Steven winces in pain as Connie pulls his ear mercilessly before letting go. “ _Hey!_ What are you doing?!” Steven whines at her, who only stares at his side, raising a finger.

“Maybe if I do… this!” Connie jabs Steven on his side, causing him to yelp and flinch away from her touch, melting into a giggling fit.

“W-Wait, I’m ticklish!” He holds out his hand in a weak attempt to stop her, who smirks and begin poking him everywhere, more to crack giggles out of him than to activate the pod of swords again. “Wait! Stop, stop, I’m gonna _peeeee_!”

Morty jumps back at the sudden tremor from the ground as full sets of armor eject themselves from the ground, forming a circle surrounding them. Connie spins around and goes slacked jaw at the assortment of defensive gear.

“Whoaaa! Look at all this armor!” Connie exclaimed, amazed at the selection.

“Press my nose! Press my nose!” Steven chants eagerly, with a wide toothy grin.

“Boop!” Connie sounds out as she bops her finger against his nose.

The armor falls back into the ground, replaced with three pink sturdy Light Cannons; standing up before being tilted into a suitable firing stance.

“Are those Light Cannons?” Steven quizzes out loud before getting his cheeks pulled in opposite directions by Connie, with a cheerful ‘next!’

“ _Axes!_ ” A sea of axes springs out in a similar fashion of the swords, all of which were of different sizes but equal sharpness.

“ _Spiky chain balls!”_ A statue of a woman emerges with three swinging spike balls hanging from each arm on a chain.

“ _A giant_ …” Their words trail and falter into nothingness at the appearance of a huge copper penny, the cost of one cent.

“... Penny?” Steven stares at it, befuddled.

“W-Who even keeps this s-stuff here?” Morty squints at the big penny before them. “W-Where would y-you even find a p-penny this big around h-here…?”

“I don’t know.” The boy shrugs. “Maybe the Gems kept it for an important reason.”

“So…” Connie taps a finger against her cheek, thoughtfully. “Does that means it's worth more than a regular penny?”

“Well…” Steven grins playfully with a wave of his hand. “That would make… _cents_.”

Morty snorts, rolling his eyes while Connie and Steven giggle at the well made pun. Lion voices his annoyance at it by flopping down near the edge of the platform, with a bored look.

“This is so great!” Connie brightens up at the thought of the place filled with weapons, defenses and other items but her expression melts into a frown. “But… I get the feeling, though, I'm not supposed to be here.”

“I want you here! The two of you! I mean, I don't want us _here_ .” He furrows a brow as he takes a short glimpse at the pink lion. “I guess Lion wants us here. But _I_ want us to be at the movies!” He smiles and Connie’s lips twitch upwards, slightly reassured. “And I want to see lots of explosions!”

With a sudden flicker, the platform's glow diminishes quickly, causing Steven to stumble back in surprise. Connie catches him, as Morty runs over to the two of them. The platform opens up, revealing a strange machine that was covered up top in spikes and holes around its side. It steadily turns to them as sharp triangular barriers begin to pierce the surface of the platform, startling the trio.

“W-What's going on?!” Morty backs up, cautiously watching the hovering tiki looking robot.

“Steven, should we be worried about this?!” Connie looks to said person, who casts his gaze towards his trusty lion, yawning and ready for a nap.

“Uh… Lion doesn't seem to be worried.” He attempts to assure the two, before bright light from the machine engulfs them and the blockades.

The white light turns into a sharp yellow, sparks and electricity crackling inside the machinery, ready to fire.

“ _Run!_ ” Steven shouts as the three immediately scatter through the small maze of stone shields, barely missing the blast of electricity shot at them.

The machine clicks and shifts to an icy shade of blue before beginning to move, scanning for a target to shoot at.

“O-Oh m-man, oh j-jeez!” Morty ducks behind a barricade for breathing room before peeking out. “G-Guys, we n-need to g-get out!”

Steven nods quickly at the teen before sprinting through the cluster of stone triangles in an attempt to reach Connie.

“Connie!”

She whips her head around before noticing the giant robot, target locked on Steven himself.

“Steven, look out!”

Jerking his head, Steven barely manages to squeeze behind the barrier to avoid getting shot at with ice. The ball blasts into the ground, instantly freezing and turning it slippery.

“Steven! What do we do?!” Connie yells, watching in terror as the machine flicks from blue to a fiery red, flames pointing right at her. “Ah!”

“ _Connie!_ ” Steven cries, running out of safety, but slipping hard on the icy residue left behind.

Steven looks up, mortified as he hears a shot firing out. His fear turns to relief upon seeing Morty rolling into harm’s way to pull Connie out of the blast zone. The teenager ducks clumsily out of another flaming shot before tripping, with Connie in tow. The boy quickly pulls the two of his friends up, but in the same instance, the robot prepares another shot, leaving no room for escape.

Morty pushes in front of Steven and Connie, an attempt of sacrifice to take the blow as the other two brace for impact. But in a moment of luck, Steven’s bubble encases the three of them fully, innate instincts kicking in. While it stopped the fireball from burning them alive, the bubble was popped on impact, leaving the three of them covered with nasty burns. The small flames licked the area near them, as the three of them groaned.

“Uhhh… my bubble.” Steven musters from the world of hurt he was in and blearily opened his eyes.

Lion pads in front the dazed trio, somehow still at peace amongst the chaos. He looks curiously yet seriously at Steven sprawled on the ground.

“Lion!” Steven scrambles up, with pleading eyes and a begging tone. “Get us out of here, Lion, please!”

With a narrow of his eyes and a look of understanding, the beast lies down, ready to be ridden out of the destruction made. No hesitation was spent on climbing him quickly, Morty helping Connie up as Steven hikes onto Lion. But just as Morty began to mount Lion, he stumbles with his footing, slipping and falling backwards onto the floor. He grasps wildly at air, attempting to get himself up, and making the mistake of turning around to check for the imminent danger.

The machine begins to charge another ball of raw energy right at the teen’s face, who stands frozen in place. The severity of the situation hits him, rendering him unable to move.

“I-I…” Morty gets out, terrified before Steven pulls him on firmly, as Lion slides out of the way of another shock blast.

Lion skates across the platform as the robot shoots flame and fire without making any hits. With another portal blast from Lion's roar, they get in within the nick of time, ending up on an empty road in front of their initial destination; the cinema.

“What?!” Steven throws up his hands, exasperated. “ _Now_ you take us to the movies?!”

Lion offers no response as he sits down, causing the children to tumble onto the rough asphalt of the road. They all groan before sitting up gingerly to avoid pressing against any burns or bruises.

“W-We should’ve taken the bus…” Morty sighs out, staring at the theatre just a stone's throw away from where they were. “W-Would've b-been safer…”

Connie winces and flinches her hand away upon making contact with a particularly nasty burn on her face.

“Connie, here. I have something for that. You too, Morty.” Steven removes the slightly toasted cheeseburger backpack before pulling out two chilled soda cans. “Sorry. They're not that cold.” He apologises, handing one each to both Morty and Connie.

“It's g-good en-enough.” The teen lets out a sigh of relief as he presses the can against a scrape on his arm.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Connie quietly thanks, shooting a weak smile as she rests her cheek on the can.

Steven looks over at the nearby cinema, pushing his own can onto his hurting cheek before turning over to Connie.

“Well, we’re here.” He quirks a small smile, still excited to see the movie. “Shall we go in?”

His smile falls fast as Connie pulls her legs up to her chest and casts her eyes on the side of the road.

“Th… That’s okay. L-Let’s just forget about it.” She mumbles, not meeting eye contact with Steven.

“Huh…?” Steven stares at her, confused as he reaches out a hand for her. “I…” He pauses, before pulling his hand back. “I’m sorry. Ugh!” He cards his hand through his hair, screwing up his eyes. “I ruined everything didn’t, I? I don’t know why you hang out with me. I mess stuff up all the time!”

“I don’t know why you hang out with _me!_ ” Connie replies in disbelief. “I'm so much more... less _interesting_ than you! And _obviously_ you have some sort of magical destiny. And Morty-” Morty starts at the sudden mention of his name from her. “You go on adventures with your grandfather to other _dimensions!_ That's sounds just as amazing as messing with magic!” She proclaims out loud, hands motioning wildly before dropping by her side. “So why would you two even care about Dogcopter…?” She murmurs, hushed and quiet.

“ _Why?_ ” Steven gasps incredulously. “Because he’s _Dogcopter!_ ” He exclaims, removing the can from his face to show his zeal over the movie. “He's a dog and a helicopter and a _cop!_ He shoots missiles out of his butt, and he's gonna _save the world!”_ Steven chimes with gusto, pumping the air with his fists. “Dogcopter is very cool and important... to me.” He finishes, albeit shyly looking down.

“Y-Yeah. T-The first thing we ever t-talked about and b-bonded over _was_ D-Dogcopter.” Morty shoots a small smile (that looked like a grimace of pain, honestly.) “A-And we both st-started talking ab-about how he was really cool, t-too. S-So, o-of course I'd care. W-We, including Steven, c-care about this because Dogcopter kicks ass!”

“Well… I’m no Dogcopter.” Connie mutters, sounding ashamed of herself.

“H-Hey.” Morty lets out, placing a hand on Connie’s shoulder. “J-Just because S-Steven and I go on our own weird a-adventures, doesn’t mean t-that people should g-go on adventures to be our f-friends. S-Sometimes, I j-just want to be normal! A n-normal teen with a normal life.” He gives the girl a genuine smile. “I-I-I w-wanted to be friends with you b-because y-you helped me and t-talked to me, and I-I’m sure S-Steven’s your f-friend because h-he wants to be.” He gestures at Steven, who nods firmly. “S-See? We’re your friends b-because we want to be.”

Connie looks up slowly, a small but incredibly reassured smile on her face.

The happy moment doesn’t last long as a fireball whizzes past her, curving and swirling before smashing into a car that explodes into shards.

“What the-” Steven utters before getting up and peeking behind Lion, who yawns, bored.

“Oh no!” Connie says, watching as the same machine from the cavern struggling to get through the closing portal, flashing in an array of colours.

“It’s the robot shooty thing!” Steven turns to both Connie and Morty, worried. “How are we supposed to beat it? Lion-” He turns to said beast, who turns to him, mildly annoyed by the robot. “What do we do?”

Lion’s eyes flicker to a bright vivid glow, before bowing down. His pink mane shines brightly along with his pupilless eyes, flowing upwards against gravity as a light begins to harness itself against Lion’s forehead, before morphing into the shape of a sword’s hilt. Steven stares with stars in his eyes at the sword’s sudden appearance, while Connie’s jaw drops to the floor.

“W-What…?” Morty utters out, perplexed as he watches Steven pull out the sword incredibly slowly, with furrowed eyebrows.

“Uh… this is weird, right?” Steven wavers as he continues to pull the blade out, unsheathing it completely from his lion’s head, who remains mysteriously unharmed, and pulling it above his head. “You have a sword in your head?! Why don't you tell me you can do these things you do?!”

As Steven finishes his sentence, the machine jiggles and squeezes through the portal, whirring loudly as it prepares more elemental shots.

“It came through!” Connie yells, just as the machine begins spinning and shooting a range of different elementals out of its various holes.

Damage wrecks the road and the ticket booth of the cinema, in which the ticket lady ducks behind to avoid the impact of multiple balls of fire, ice and lightning. Steven backs up a tad, looking at the sword and back to the firing squad of a machine.

“What do I do with this?!” Steven frets, not knowing what to do with the sword as a bolt of electricity zooms their way, not knowing what to do with the sword.

“Watch out!” Connie grabs Steven’s hands and the hilt of the sword, tilting it slightly and causing the shot to glance of the blade and into the opposite direction.

“W-Whatever y-you're doing…” Morty watches as the machine falters for a bit before charging another blast. “K-Keep at i-it!”

Connie and Steven shoot each other a look of surprise before grinning at each other, now knowing what to do. She adjusts her grip of the sword and guides Steven to swing from the left as a shot comes sailing through.

“Forehand!” She yells, as the shot deflects off the sword’s blade. “Backhand!” She shouts, swinging the sword from the right and keeping another shot at bay.

“Overhead… _death strike!_ ” The two yell together as they push back against a searing ball of fire, chucking it into the machine itself, which fries its circuits and explodes into bits of fragments.

The pieces of metal and scraps rain down on the road from the blast. Connie and Steven look on, awestruck while Morty breathes out a sigh of relief.

“Just like tennis practice.” Connie whispers quietly, in wonder.

“Magical destiny practice.” Steven corrects, equally as amazed.

With the carnage being over, the three head over to the booth, somehow still intact with exceptions to the cracked glass. The ticket lady pops up, before noticing the trio in front of the wreckage.

“Hi!” Steven chirps, not noticing a flaming tyre rolling past him.

The woman gives a short glance at the damage behind them before quirking a small smile.

“Uh, hello.”

“Three kids and one lion to see Dogcopter.” He politely states as Lion presses his nose against the glass, huffing and creating a mist against it.

“Um…” The lady leans away from the pink beast and nearer to the children. “Do you have a rewards card?”

* * *

 

The screen pans to a dog eating ravenously out of a dog bowl before perking up at a beeping noise that gets faster. With a quick twirl of his helicopter blades, he nonchalantly flies out, escaping the explosion inside the building behind him.

“N-Niiice.” Morty drawls out, kicking up his legs to rest in the empty seat in front of him.

“Whoa! Was that in the book?” Steven asks curiously and excitedly, eyes still trained on the screen.

“Eh, they're taking some liberties.” She smiles, watching the rest of the scene unfold.

Lion growls quietly, sitting comfortably in three seats behind the trio, out of the rest of the empty theatre.

As Steven continues to coo and woo about the movie and as Morty occasionally lets out a bit of commentary on the movie with the two of them, Connie casually sips on her apple juice with wide eyes, shining with happiness.

Dogcopter is and will be a treasure to her, but after today, Connie quietly adds friendship on the top of her precious and most important item list.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the fic! Feel free to comment to point out my errors and the parts that felt lackluster or too long so that I can improve myself.
> 
> I'm thinking about writing more to this crossover, but I'm not too sure. Maybe y'all can decide?


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